"A GREAT PLACE TO HANG"....
-
Jeff Lofton
Austin, Texas
United States - Share
- Profile Apps
- Blog Posts
- Discussions
- Events
- Groups
- Photos (5)
- Photo Albums
- Videos
Music
Jeff Lofton's Page
Profile Information
- Marital Status
- Married
- Where are you located?
- Austin, Texas USA
- Tell us a little about your background...
- www.myspace.com/jeffloftonquartet or www.jefflofton.com
“Listen up, Miles Davis fans,” the Austin American Statesman wrote of Jeff Lofton, “…the virtuoso studied music composition and jazz at the University of South Carolina… with decades of experience under his belt, … Lofton recently relocated to Austin where his smooth jazz sounds can be heard as he leads the melodic Jeff Lofton Group.”
Lofton's recent All Miles 1950's show at the Elephant Room in Austin, Texas, featured music written by, or made popular, by Miles Davis and performed with the distinctive style of Davis' three different eras of the 1950s.
"In the early 1950s Miles' sonatas mixed with early bebop writing/playing reflects a faster, more Dizzy Gillespie style," Lofton says. "It involves playing many notes to achieve a solo interpretation. In the mid-1950s, Davis created more space in his music. Fewer notes were used and more emphasis was put on the notes he does play. The late 1950's were more Avant Garde, as well as modal concepts as heard in the album Kind of Blue."
Last fall Lofton’s Miles Davis tribute show kicked off a Sunday Night Jazz series at the historic Victory Grill, one of the few remaining juke joints from the Chitlin’ Circuit. The show’s great reception led it to an encore performance at the Elephant Room, and it’s now back again with new songs. The Jeff Lofton Quintet also includes Austin musicians Sam Lipman on saxophone (www.myspace.com/samlipman); Marc Devine on piano (www.marcdevine.com); Chris Budhan on bass (www.myspace.com/cbudhan); and Steve Schwelling on drums (www.myspace.com/steveschwelling).
“Jazz is a backdrop for popular American music,” Jeff Lofton said in a recent interview with The Monitor (http://www.thev247.com/entertainment/jazz_2162___article.html/music_lofton.html). “Some people think it’s too complicated, sophisticated, or hear one artist playing avant-garde jazz and say, ‘I don’t like it.’ But it’s a myriad of cultures and diversity and connected to other music.”
Since relocating to Austin last year, Lofton has shared the stage with the Marc Devine Trio at Reed’s Jazz and Supper Club, the Sean Hopper Quartet at Central Markets, and frequently sits in at the Elephant Room’s Mike Mardecai Jazz Jam on Monday nights. The Jeff Lofton Quartet’s other Austin performances include Central Market Westgate, Central Market Central, Club 40, Club 1808, Jerry’s Artarama Artist Festival and a Barack Obama fund raising event. Recent Texas shows outside of Austin include Kirby's Fine Dining in San Antonio, Cine El Rey historic theatre and Espana Mediterranean Cuisine in McAllen, and Shenanigan’s in Brownsville.
Lofton debuted his first jazz CD, Jazz Therapy, in 2005, with the Jeff Lofton Quartet. The self-produced CD mixes old style be-bop with modern forms of jazz in the tradition of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane. In addition to Lofton on trumpet, the CD also includes Roland Haynes on piano, Reggie Sullivan on bass and Kenneth Salters on drums.
Born in Germany to American parents, Lofton grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where he studied music at the University of South Carolina. Playing trumpet for nearly thirty years, Lofton has spent time on the road in Chicago and New York City. He has performed with such musical talents as Austin’s own guitarist Jim Mings, saxophonist Rene Sandoval, Ron Westray and Wycliff Gordon of the Wynton Marsalis septet, Fred Wesley of the James Brown horn section, Fred Hampton of the Chicago A.A.C.M., and South Carolina musicians Skip Pearson, Robert Gardner, Dr. Dick Goodwin, Dr. John Enkey, Teddy Linder and many others.
Lofton also works as an R&B and hip-hop producer, producing such artists as Legend and The Gutsmen. As a winner of the juried competition, Lofton was an artist in the music category of the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Arts in Education Roster. The program provides grants for work in educational settings statewide. He currently leads jazz clinics for high school students in Austin.
In South Carolina, The Jeff Lofton Quartet had a strong local following from a long-running Friday night show at Meritage in the Vista, as well as performances at Mac’s on Main. Lofton is also well known for the Jazz Therapy Jazz Quintet featuring himself and Skip Pearson performing on Sundays at the club Group Therapy. Other groups Lofton has played with include Defellas (an avant guard jazz group), Deja Voodoo (a hip hop/jazz fusion group) and Wadada (a reggae group).
- How did you hear about the Jazz Network? Please give full name of contact
- friends on the site
- What is your website address? Only websites that pertain to your business and how you can be contacted.
- http://www.jefflofton.com
Jeff Lofton's Photos
Quotes from some of the best...
Jaijai, what a wonderful mission you've undertaken to create such a place for artistic minds to meet and share their hearts. A place to renew faded determinations, and revive lessened momentums. A place to display our wares and reconfirm to one another that we actually are on the right track.
I commend you, Jaijai, for caring so much that you created this castle of the heart for all of us. I want to share my praise for all of the new friends as well as old friends that I've met and will meet here in our castle. Here we can garnish the where-with-all, the strength, the conviction, and the selflessness through our symbiosis, to share our gift to the world with an unbiased agenda.
My mentor, Daisaku Ikeda says of art: "A beautiful flower delights and refreshes the hearts of all people equally, no matter what soil it grows in. That is the power of beauty. The same is true of great art. It is this spirit that the German poet Heinrich Heine sang of when he wrote that once the peapod bursts open, the sugar peas inside are for everyone to enjoy."
Let's be audacious, my friends!
Buster Williams
Dear Jaijai:
What a wonderful thing you have created here and thanks so much for the fabulous feature you did for my music and me. As I am new to TJN I am fascinated by what you have created. There are so many talented artists here and it feels like I’ve gone to heaven. Your father and I were close friends over the years and Duffy still is. He played in my trio at Arturo’s in Miami Beach last summer. (2007) And I have worked with him off and on since he was 12 years old. I just know your father is very proud of you and the site is a work of art! You have created something of real value for the jazz community and all I can say is Bravo!
Mike Longo
Hey Jaijai,
What a marvelous idea of having a place where musicians can come to connect with each other. We all now know this as the The Jazz Network, thanks to you. Thank you for allowing us all benefit from the power of your dreams.
Safe travels,
Henry Johnson
Daughter of the great jazz legend, Billy Eckstine, pays tribute to her iconic father with sultry, smokey ballads, classic swing and a touch of hip latin, all sung by this dynamic vocalist.
The Jazz Network gets a sneak peek of Paul's upcoming CD, click the cover and get a taste of what's to come!
WE HIT OVER ONE MILLION VIEWERS :-)
Create your free world visitor maps
Videos
-
-
SongSound Of The Drums
Added by Ze'ev Macklin
-
26 Blue Moons
Added by Ze'ev Macklin
-
SongSound Of The Drums
Added by Ze'ev Macklin
-
-
-
-
Michael Jackson
Added by janice lee
"The Jazz Network has come into being at just the right time. I believe that we are forever in need of spiritual and artistic enrichment and the way I see it, music, particularly jazz music, is all about the spirit. The Jazz Network allows us to reach out to our fellow artists across the world, in a way that has not been seen before, enlightening us as to who's out there making hip and happening music and helping to shape the culture. Whether artists approach this music from traditional perspectives or attempt to create new and radical sub-genres of jazz, the Jazz Network
is providing exposure, performance and recording opportunities that we might never have found on our own.
The Jazz Network is an amazing resource for the Jazz community. I'm
honored and happy to be a part of it.
Jaijai, thanks for your faith and what you're doing for the jazz community"
Best,
Nicolas
RSS
A Jazz Voice Finds a Mellower Range
When it’s time for the jazz singer Sheila Jordan to work on arrangements, she heads to Middleburgh, N.Y. Tradition Leaping to the Sky
Tradition is of considerable use to Hiromi, but mainly as a springboard; she’s always poised to jackknife through the stratosphere. 1 Charmer, 5 Albums, and Still a Teenager
Having five albums to her name is a sure testament to Grace Kelly’s preternatural skill, but it also possibly indicates a discomforting order of priorities. An All-Star Tribute Recalls the Downtown Loft Scene
The 30th anniversary tribute to the Jazz Forum featured a crowded bill of over a dozen veterans from the former East Village space.Jazz Listings
JAZZ.Mixing the Prepared With the Impromptu
Nearly all jazz balances improvisation against composition, but a band like Floriculture makes you realize how many degrees there are of striking that balance. The Voice Is Dark and the Emphasis Mysterious
A subdued Diana Krall held forth on Tuesday at Carnegie Hall, where she gave the first of two concerts with a 41-piece orchestra, augmented by a jazz trio. Evil Chords and Jazz Flourishes
Reviews of Xasthur, Christian McBride, Josh Berman, Tiny Vipers and Yob. Jazz Listings
JAZZ.Territory of Two Norwegian Trumpeters
Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvaer presented distinct visions of a post-Miles landscape at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday.At the White House, a Blend of Jazz Greats and Hopefuls
On Monday afternoon, Michelle Obama invited about 150 high school jazz students to the White House for a program called Jazz Studio, with workshops led by jazz musicians and a concert. Huey Long, Guitarist for Ink Spots, Dies at 105
Mr. Long, who took up the guitar in 1933, performed with an extensive list of greats in a journey that began with Dixieland, moved into swing and jumped forward to bebop. Jazz Listings
JAZZ.Five Drummers Whose Time Is Now
The musicians featured are all finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself. Jazz Attuned to the Pace of a Calm, Steady Heartbeat
The South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim harbors no fondness for disruption. Latest Activity
Excerpt from Concert @ Watts Tower Mingus Arts Center Music of Charles Mingus,June 21,2009
Donald Dean-Drums
Hakeem Holloway-Bass
Nedra Wheeler-Bass
John Clayton-Bass
Bill Johnson-Bass
James Leary-Bass & arranger
Forum
Grease and Grits (blues concert)
Started by Debra Dean in Sample Title Jun 15.
Attn: Music Publishers, Composers, Producers & Arrangers
Started by Sheet Music Engravers in Sample Title Jun 9.
Internet radio featuring independent artist GHP RADIO
Started by Gary Fuston in Sample Title Jun 5.
la musica y percusion de colombia..
Started by premel in Sample Title Jun 4.
BB King "LIVE" June 2, June 3 - FREE BROADCAST
Started by Allen Johnston in Sample Title May 30.
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS ACT 1 Reply
Started by Allen Johnston in Sample Title. Last reply by Petra Kozeluhova Jun 4.
Reggae Jazz
Started by Sharon Addison in Sample Title May 25.
Memorial to Jazz Drummer SHELTON GARY (NY)
Started by Topsy M. Durham in Sample Title May 21.
Simply An-G and CDC Foundation
Started by Simply An-G in Uncategorized May 18.
song of the year.. 1 Reply
Started by nicky quick in Sample Title. Last reply by Scotty Wright May 24.
Birthdays
© 2009 Created by Jaijai Jackson
googled77eeec400d24e5e.html
Comment Wall (15 comments)
You need to be a member of THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE to add comments!
Join this social network
DannyV
Love the music!!
Ken
I love your sound.
Ken
Tanks for add my.
Vere nice sound and playing !
Peace,jazz.
Vitaly
Love the feel of the music.
Will
View All Comments